Love and Other Impossible Things
by primelimes
Summary: Muggle AU. They met by accident and stumbled on something real. Then they stumbled on something that couldn't be possible. Lily/James
1. Chapter 1

I am not J. K. Rowling, not even j. k. around. - is the disclaimer bit necessary, or just convention?

**00:14**

Lily had forgotten just how bitter the wind had gotten until she came up the stairs from the London Underground into the dappled glow of moth-swarmed streetlights. Cursing every hole in her loosely knit sweater, she crossed her arms to clutch the unsuitable fabric more tightly around her, and began the brisk walk from the station to her flat. Largely preoccupied with trying to re-arrange her bag so that it stopped bouncing uncomfortably against her legs without loosening her grip on her one pitiable weapon against the chill and trying _not _to think about how much she wanted to quit her crap job that had kept her out _again _until all hours of the night – _damn those international branches – _she failed to notice she was being followed until she reached the end of the block and stopped to wait for a break in the light traffic.

Suddenly, however, she was _very _aware of a large presence sidling up behind her, a possessive hand at her waist, and an unfamiliar voice in her ear saying, "Hey there baby doll, how about we go warm you up?" Her throat clutched as she spun around and tried to back away – _stupid stupid stupid – _without falling off the curb.

"How about you get your hands off me?" She was glad her voice sounded properly strong and pissed off as she dropped a hand into her bag to search out something hard and sharp.

The man merely leered and took a step closer, and Lily's hand tightened its grip on – _is this a pen? Fine, whatever, it will do _– when a heated, "Oi! 'The fuck, mate?" distracted them both.

Both heads turned to see the interloper – a tall, bespectacled man wearing a rather disorderly dinner suit and the bleary, unsteady demeanor of the very drunk. The slight skew to his spectacles did surprisingly little to detract from the outraged look on his flushed face as he glared at the aggressor. "What the fuck d'you think yer doing? You don't – don't _grab_ at girls on the street." He took a few more shakily hostile steps in their direction.

Lily hesitated, rolling her makeshift weapon in her hand. It seemed she had accrued a protector of sorts – but she wasn't entirely sure how much longer he'd manage to keep to his feet. Almost as if the thought had caused it, his foot missed the curb and he toppled into the street. Trusting that any decision was better than none, Lily followed her instincts. She stomped down, hard, on her adversary's foot with a "_fuck off," _before hurrying over to her defender's side and grabbing a floundering limb at random to help pull him safely out of the way of traffic.

A quick glance up as she helped set him on the curb showed that the brute had departed, and she breathed easier, turning an assessing eye to the form at her feet. Desperately thankful he was conscious and apparently at least somewhat sentient, Lily still looked a bit helplessly down at the man's general disarray."Er – are you alright?"

He looked up at her, blinking her into focus, a pile of long limbs in scuffed worsted wool. "Yeah, I'm more'r less peachy. How're you? Did he hurt you?"

"Yeah, no, I'm good. Sure. Fine. Bit shaky, maybe. Um." She found herself at a bit of a loss. "Do you… need help getting anywhere?"

"Well…" he brought both hands up to sift cautiously through his hair. Lily wasn't sure if it was due to habit, headache, or to make sure his head was still attached. "To be honest, I'm not…entirely…certain. Was at my cousin's wedding, and I stepped out for a bit of air. Might've gone a step too far." He made to stand up, and Lily caught his elbow for support. His eyes went slightly out of focus as he reached his full height, and Lily gripped his elbow more tightly. She cast her eyes around the street before snapping them back and grabbing both his arms as he leaned alarmingly to the left.

"You're listing starboard, my friend." She bit her lip. "Alright. Coffee, then cab." She turned him and led his acquiescent form towards the 24-hour diner just up the street.

"Jolly good. I'm James, by the by."

"Lily."

**00:31**

"What can I get you?"

Lily looked from the waitress over to James, who was smiling slightly as he fussed with the small, tabletop jukebox, and considered the late hour and her own fading rush of adrenaline. "One coffee, one tea, please."

"Be right up." The waitress's departure did nothing to lessen Lily's growing discomfiture. As she glanced around the tiny establishment, she absentmindedly raised a hand to smooth her hair, and then froze – o_h no – mistake – that was a mistake – I would rather not know this. _ The wind had run rampant through her hair, which was of a thick, curly nature and required a firm, no-nonsense talking to every morning before she dared to leave the house, and it was now about as much under her control as a caffeinated toddler let loose in a water park.

This…concerned Lily. As bizarre as the situation was, Lily had not failed to notice that this James fellow was a remarkably good-looking bloke. The sort who, had she caught a glimpse of him somewhere, perhaps on the Underground, she would have made a point to then determinedly _not _look at him out of an intense embarrassment directed somewhere toward the universe in general. She wondered how much finger combing she could get away with in a seemingly casual manner. _Relax, you just saw this bloke fall flat on his face, and his bowtie is still on sideways. Confidence, woman. _She began raking a hand through the mess in what she hoped was a nonchalant manner. "So – good wedding?"

"Wha-?" James's head jerked up, and his hand pulled away from the jukebox to run through his own hair, a strange mirroring at which Lily couldn't help but smile.

"Your cousin's wedding?"

"Oh, yeah, brilliant. Or, well, brilliant alcohol. The, um –" He broke off to mutter his thanks as their drinks were delivered. "The whole situation was a bit complicated, which in my family means it's time to hire in good catering to make sure enough strangers are around to keep anyone from causing a scene. The bartender was fantastic. Terrible jokes, but excellent Rob Roys." He took a sip of coffee. "_Ohhh _thank Christ."

Lily's smile turned into a smirk. "You seem better. More, um—"

"More of a person and less of a drunken circus bear? Well, you know what they say—" he slung his elbows onto the table and gave a loose shrug, "nothing like a fresh breeze, a near-death experience, and embarrassing oneself in front of a pretty girl to sober a bloke right up."

Lily gave a husky laugh, but James turned serious. "You're sure you're alright?"

Lily sobered as well. "Yeah, I'm alright. I was stupid. I should've been paying better attention."

"Yeah, well, he should've been being a decent human being."

Lily couldn't help the twitch of a smile. "Yeah, he should've. Thanks for stepping in, really."

James snorted. "Fat lot of good I did. You took him out just fine on your own. Good for you, by the way."

"Yeah, well – my dad was a cop with two daughters. It was always, 'constant vigilance,' and, '50 ways to take a man down with heels on,' and all that."

"Right on." James grinned. He had a quick, easy grin – Lily had never seen anything that matched the term so exactly and so appealingly – and wondered if it was always quite like that, or currently aided by the effects of the alcohol…

A new song started to play, and Lily noticed the grin morph into a suspicious pucker like a stifled smile. "Hang on – this is – this is _My Bucket's Got a Hole in It._ Did _you _just pick this song? Seriously?"

James – there was really no other word for it – giggled.

**01:05**

"—and then he says, 'it's not an eggplant, _he's retarded_.'"

Lily had been prepared to laugh, judging by the look on James' face as he told the joke, but the punch line took her by surprise, and the strength of her first, deep "Ha!" made the bored waitress jump on the other side of the room. "The bartender told you that joke at a _wedding_? That's _horrible_!"

James was laughing, too. "I know! I didn't know if I should be horrified, or give him an extra tip for putting that look on my grandmother's face. Oh, _man._"

Lily shook her head, still chuckling, but the backs of her eyes felt gritty, and she checked her watch and groaned. "I should really get going. I work in the morning."

"Shit. What do you do?"

"I – actually, I'd rather not say. It's just depressing. Suffice to say, I studied archaeology at Uni, and my current job is a far cry from archaeology." She paused. "Unless you count the old fossils I work for, which I don't."

That quick, easy grin appeared again – lord help her – but then it faded into a sort of rueful smile. "Fuck."

Lily paused with her teacup at her lips. "Pardon?"

"Bloody fucking shit fuck _fucking shit_."

The cup went down without ever making it to her lips. "What –?"

"Look at you. Just – _look _at you. You're so bloody gorgeous, and I like you – a lot, I mean, I really like you. And here I am, sloshed and making a terrible impression, and you're just perfect, and I couldn't even help you properly, and I at least _fucking _hope my karma's good enough that I remember you properly in the morning, because _fucking hell."_

Lily gaped a bit, mostly stunned, although not unaware of the squirm of delight she felt at his assessment of the situation. "I – er…"

"You don't have to say anything. Shit, sorry, what areyou _supposed_ to say about that? S'all right. Ignore me." James frowned at his empty coffee cup, began to raise it to his lips, registered it was empty, set it back down and frowned at it more intensely.

Lily fought a blush, but allowed the smile to surface. "Don't worry about it. Really. You're not that badly off, and anyway, you're a sweet drunk, which in my mind, plays heavily in your favor."

James just looked at her, wary and hopeful. "Any chance you'd give a strange tipsy bloke your number?"

"Well…" Lily hesitated. "No offense, but just as a general rule, I don't." She bit her lip. "How about this—day after tomorrow's Saturday. Meet back here? Say…noon? We could get lunch."

"Yes. Absolutely, yes. Saturday at noon. Fuck, here, wait. Just in case I don't remember you…of course I'll remember you. Just in case I don't remember how to get to this place, lemme give you my number. Where's a napkin?" He patted his pockets bemusedly for a minute until Lily remembered the pen in her bag and fetched it out for him. He scribbled down something which might technically be called legible, and pushed it over to her. "Here. If I don't show, call me, and tell me that I'm a dunce and you're spectacular. Deal?"

Lily bit the inside of her cheek in her attempt to keep her smile down at a sane level. "Deal."

**_Roughly Six Months Later_**

James heard the door slam, followed by the chink of dropped keys and the clatter of heels being shuffled off. Lily appeared in the kitchen doorway a moment later, and slumped against the frame, eyes closed. "Please tell me you've got something in for supper so that I can worship you forever."

James grinned as he set down the knife and turned to grab her by the wrist, pulling her in for a hug and then simply resting his lips on the top of her head. "What if I told you I was getting there?"

Lily gave a muffled _harrumph. _ "Ehh. Then I suppose I'd think you alright." She sighed and shifted her arms to hold him more comfortably.

It was a lovely, quiet moment, and since James had _not _yet turned on anything that involved fire, he saw no reason to hurry it. "How was work?"

Lily shrugged and turned her cheek to rest against his chest. "It was. How was your class—wait—" She pulled away slightly and furrowed her brows, trying to remember. "Thursday. Class? How was your class?"

"Good. Mendes still currently holds the position of best prof ever, so yeah, good."

"Good." Lily leaned contentedly against James for a few more moments, and then not-so-subtly peered around him to see what he had laid out on the counter. Rolling his eyes affectionately, he released her to go snoop at the ingredients. She poked around the spice bottles he had sitting out, and sniffed the marinade in which he had placed most of a chicken. "What is it, exactly, that you're making?"

"I was going for fajitas."

"Intriguing and appetizing." She looked critically at his mound of chopped vegetables. "You're going to need more onions." She started shuffling thing about trying to find some.

"I don't have more onions. Sit down. Have a drink. Tell me whatever you didn't tell me about work."

Lily glowered halfheartedly, but moved to get a bottle of wine, a screw, and two glasses. "I feel like such a drag to gripe about work all the time."

James shrugged and started fussing with the oil. "Your job sucks consistently; you're allowed to complain about it consistently." He stepped back and turned for her approval. "Does this look like the right amount?"

She shrugged indifferently as she sat down. "Looks about right to me. It's not so bad on paper. Boring and undercompensated, but not a bad job. It's just that everyone I work with is _such _an _arse._ I mean, Bates Jr. alone could fill a HR complaint binder a week, if people weren't afraid to lose their jobs over it." She set her glass down with a clunk and made a jerky, expansive movement with her arms. "And now _I'm _one of those patsies sitting quietly by while he runs around being a sexist, racist, classist donkey of a man. _That's _really the problem. I can't tell him to go fuck himself sideways like I_ should_, because his daddy cuts my checks, and I hate myself for it."

"So quit."

"Oh, go stuff it up your trust fund, boy-o." She immediately made an appeasing motion with her hands before apologetically sliding the second glass of wine across the table so that it was within his reach. "I don't mean to snap at you, but not everyone has the luxury of keeping to their principles _and _paying the rent. It's stupid and sleazy and _beyond _frustrating, but I can't quit without _seriously _screwing myself over." She took a breath as if to continue, but then changing her mind, she exhaled noisily and took a mouthful of wine.

James remained quiet as he scrutinized the now-cooking meat and vegetables, and Lily scrutinized him. "What are you thinking?"

James opened mouth before simply closing it again. "I don't disagree with any of that. I'm just wondering if I can suggest what I'm thinking without you taking it the wrong way."

Lily sniffed theatrically. "I always take things in _precisely_ the right way." James raised a brow and grinned at her askance, and Lily's lips twitched in response. "Oh, just try me. If you piss me off, I promise to forget and let you try again." She shifted, curling one leg beneath her and leaning an elbow on the table as she looked at him expectantly.

James shut off the stove with a _snick _and turned to face her. "You're good with your money. I mean, you're a careful spender, right? You must have _something _saved at the mo, correct?" He saw Lily frown slightly and make to argue, so he pressed on. "I'm not saying loads, but some." He paused, and although Lily continued to frown, she was listening, so he decided to just go for it. "Move here with me. If you don't have rent, you don't have a problem. Quit your job. Take time to find a better one without worrying about it. Go back to school, whatever you want."

"James—" Lily hesitated, looking slightly apprehensive. "That's really sweet. Seriously sweet of you to offer. But, well, I mean, first of all, we haven't known each other _that_ long—moving in together is serious, if—"

"Lily, I _know _you. You _know _me. I don't want to live with you for the practicality of it, that's just the timing. I'm serious; I'm fucking crazy about you. I'd like you to be here. Would you be here with me?"

Something about the way he said it made Lily's heart tighten. The expression on Lily's face grew from apprehensive to troubled, and she fussed with the stem of her glass restlessly. "Well…now I don't want _you _to take this the wrong way. Honestly, living with you sounds pretty bloody brilliant – the idea that you'd want me to makes me a bit giddy, quite frankly." She paused. "I just feel really, _really _uncomfortable with the idea of…not… pulling my weight, I guess. The last thing I'd want to do is plop myself down here like a bleeding barnacle."

"Who said anything about not pulling your weight? You know _you'd _make sure there were enough onions. _You'd _remember fajitas require those, like – griddle bread things – before it was too late – shit, by the way. Hell,_ you_ called the plumber when the shower pipe was doing that weird thing. And _you _actually seemed to know what the fuck he was talking about. I am an idiot with a trust fund. We play to our strengths." James took heart in the way her eyes had softened during what he realized belatedly was verging on a rant.

Lily wet her lips as she considered his face. "Can I think about it?" she asked quietly.

He released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Yeah, of course."

"Good." Lily's fingers tapped on the table nervously. "Can….we eat?"

James scrubbed his hands through his hair and turned to get plates from the cupboard. "Yeah, this is ready."

Lily rose from the table to wrap her arms around him from behind and he stilled. "You're a seriously sweet bloke, James Potter. Don't think I haven't noticed." She pressed a kiss to the back of his neck. He turned into her, and she hooked a finger over the bridge of his glasses to remove them to kiss him properly. After a moment she smiled against his lips and raised her eyes to meet his. "Did you really forget fajitas meant you needed tortillas?"

"Yep." He smoothed his hands down the back of her shirt. Lily gave one of those low, rusty laughs that had first drawn him to her in his hazy memory of the night they met, and then she stepped away.

"Well, I need to eat some of whatever we're going to call this, then; it smells amazing."

"Fuck, right?"

* * *

Hello. Hi. Well, this is the first thing I've posted on ff, and I'm more than a bit nervous about it. It started off as a teeny oneshot, but I decided to go big or go home. I promise it will eventually be a _muggle _au, not a non-magical one, if you see what I mean. Alright. I'd love some feedback, as I mostly feel like I don't know what I'm doing. Another chapter should be along soon. Hearts and horseshoes, Amy


	2. Chapter 2

The morning was still and cool when Lily woke, warm in their nest of shared sleep. She twisted and reached out to turn off the alarm before it buzzed, then settled back down against James with a sigh, dreamily watching the play of early light through the curtains. James half woke and stretched and yawned beside her, mussed and lanky and beautiful. _Who the hell do I imagine I'm kidding—why exactly would I want to wake up anywhere but here? _She snuggled closer beside him and drew her fingers absently over his skin as she considered the way things stood. "James?"

He made an indecipherable sound and wrapped an arm around her without opening his eyes.

"If I moved in here, you'd have to meet my parents properly." She pressed her lips together and waited for his response.

It took a minute, but his eyes opened and he turned his face to her, his eyes flickering between the two of hers. A lazy smile spread over his face slowly. "You've met mine. I suppose it's only fair, even if your father does carry a gun." More awake, he propped himself on one elbow and grinned down at her, drawing his free hand through the tangled chaos of her hair.

Lily snorted. "I'd be more worried about my mother if I were you. And anyway, if we're being fair about the meet-and-greet, you still have several more things to make up for. None of _my _friends have accused you of being a prostitute, for example."

This drew a chuckle from James, and he gave up trying to work through the knots and simply smoothed down her hair instead. "You can't hold that against Sirius, he's an idiot."

Lily _hmmed_. "I'd have been more miffed if I didn't know it was more of an insult to you than anything." She ignored him as he flicked her nose. "Anyway, I imagine my sister will more than make up for anything your parents or Sirius ever said." Her brow creased as something occurred to her. "Her husband went to school with Roger Bates. She pretty much got me my job." She fiddled with James' hand absently. "She's going to be so pissed if I quit." James watched her silently.

"Is that enough of a reason not to?"

Lily sighed. "No. And I need to get up if I'm going to keep the indulgence of quitting when I'm good and ready instead of being fired." She moved to roll out of bed, but James stopped her.

He looked at her seriously. "So you're moving in?"

She stilled, and tried to decipher the flutter in her middle. _B__utterflies or you're-making-a-huge-mistake moths?_ "Yes?"

"Good." He kissed her softly. "After you quit, we should celebrate. Go somewhere. You haven't had time off for as long as I've known you. Let's make the most of it."

She considered him, then smiled. "Okay."

He kissed her again. "Think of where you might like to go."

* * *

Earlier Saturday morning, Lily had considered coming a few minutes late. Casually. The thought had to be abandoned, though, as it just wasn't in her nature. She was seated in the same booth in the same diner at precisely 11:50, the suit jacket he had lent her folded neatly beside her as she waited, feeling foolish. She curbed the impulse to use the extra time to check her hair in the bathroom, having channelled the urge to fuss and primp into wrestling her hair into a complicated braid. She figured he wouldn't notice, so it wouldn't _look _as if she'd fussed, but it was reassuring to have done so.

"Get you anything?"

It was a different waitress, older and more dour. "Just tea for now, thanks." Lily gave into the habit of drumming her fingers on the table nervously as the minutes ticked by with impossible slowness. Fifteen minutes later, Lily was gazing absently out the window when someone slipped into the booth across from her, causing her to jump and lukewarm tea to slosh over her fingers, and she quickly put her cup down.

The man was handsome, well-dressed, smiling knowingly, and most definitely not James. "I assume I have the right ginger?" His voice was smooth and his accent was posh.

Lily quirked a brow. "Couldn't say. You're not the right bloke, I can tell you that much."

He grinned. "James was unfortunately unable to make your planned tryst, but seeing as he so maladroitly failed to get your number, I am the messenger, sent to give you his apologies and assure you of his continued interest." He gave a slight bow, still seated. "Sirius Black. Lovely to make your acquaintance."

"Oh." The return of the waitress saved Lily from trying to figure out how she felt about this in time to make a suitable reply.

Sirius ignored the menu as he smiled flirtatiously at the older woman. "I'll have whatever it is you normally have." To Lily, "Lunch is on James."

"I see. Er – the same. I'll have the same. Unless 'the same' has mushrooms." Sirius gave a snort at odds with his general demeanour, and the waitress rolled her eyes at them and walked away.

Sirius leaned back, apparently content to sit in silence and survey her speculatively, and Lily searched for something to say. "It was nice of you to come. Um – did something happen, or…"

Sirius continued to watch her closely as he answered. "Nah, he has an important meeting in Southampton today, which apparently slipped his mind the other night. He almost decided to skip it when he realized, which would've been unfathomably stupid, so I convinced him to let me meet up with you instead."

The way he said it made Lily feel there was an implied insult somewhere, but rather than try to sort it out, she merely responded, "Ah. I see."

The waitress returned with a closed expression and two soggy egg-salad sandwiches, which she dumped on the table unceremoniously. "Enjoy," she said dryly, as both Lily and Sirius looked sceptically at the rather unappealing selection.

"Thank you," Lily said weakly, although the waitress was already walking away.

Sirius took a considering bite, shrugged, and returned to staring at her as he ate. Lily had just taken a bite herself when he said, "You don't look much like a prostitute."

Lily choked and reached for a glass of water that wasn't there. She finally managed to swallow with some difficulty, and gasped, "_Excuse _me?"

Sirius smiled sardonically. "I figured you'd be a prostitute."

Lily gaped at him. "How'd you figure?"

His grin was sharp and amused. "He was drunk. A pretty girl getting hassled on a street corner in the middle of the night, who won't tell him what job she has other than that she answers to old men? Cosying up to a man in a nice suit? Seemed pretty cut-and-dried to me."

Lily was speechless for a minute. "I work for The Bates Firm. It's not so much selling myself as it is selling out."

Sirius shrugged carelessly.

Lily watched him eat for a minute as she sorted it out. "So you… _diplomatically_ convinced him to let you come because it would've been 'unfathomably stupid' for him to miss whatever it was for a bird he didn't realize was…unsuitable? Is that it?"

"Spot on." He smiled cheekily through a mouthful of boiled egg, and somehow still managed to look as though he had the upper hand.

It was Lily's turn to stare. "Fuck you."

Sirius just smirked at her, swallowed and, eyes narrowing, seemed to come to a decision. "James Charlus Potter, twenty five, single. In a postgraduate programme for Civil Engineering and working as a TA. No debts, has all his teeth, no history of stalking ex-girlfriends." He took a last bite and wiped his hands elegantly on a napkin as he moved to stand up. "Call him."

Lily was taken aback by the abrupt end to the conversation, and he had already thrown a few bills on the table and begun to walk away when she remembered herself. "Wait!" She picked up the jacket and held it out. "Give this back to him?"

He smiled consideringly at the jacket before looking at her. "_You _give it back." He walked out whistling, leaving his sandwich half-eaten, and Lily thoroughly bemused and irritated.

* * *

The door slammed. "That's it! I quit! I did it! I don't care! I –" Lily stopped hollering, ducking her head through doorways until she found James grinning on the sofa. "Oh, good. I thought maybe you weren't here and I was yelling like a madwoman at the schefflera." She flopped down on top of James and began littering his face with kisses.

James let his textbook drop to the floor and accepted her attentions agreeably. "The what?"

Lily paused to jerk her head towards the corner. "The plant."

Her lips moved down to his neck, and James wavered between leaving her to it, or prodding her for more information. He sighed, running his hands up and down her arms soothingly and pulling away. "So. You quit."

"Yes." Flushed with accomplishment, she sat back on his legs and shook her hair out of its clip, making James hate himself just a little. "I know I'd said I'd wait to make sure the woman taking on my lease next month got on alright with Joyce, but I decided to be selfish. I was informed today that it would be my duty to see to it that the shirts of anyone meeting with a client in the office were suitably ironed. The state of them by afternoon wasn't professional. They brought in an ironing board for my use." She raised her hands and dropped them exasperatedly. "I'm a bloody accountant!"

"Was a bloody accountant," James corrected, wrapping a red curl around his finger.

"_Was _an accountant," Lily agreed warmly. "I should have sworn off practical courses at Uni entirely. I do hope you know what you're getting into. I fully intend to take more than half the closet and muck up the bathroom with unnecessary bits and bobs. It's too late for you to back out now. I'm a leaf in the wind."

James loosely gripped a handful of her hair to tug her back to him. "You already muck up the bathroom." He kissed her neck. "I don't mind."

Lily hummed and shifted her weight. "Do I need to leave you alone to study? It's probably not the best timing to have me hanging around the house with your exam coming up so soon."

James' mouth moved lower, and he shifted her again. "Later. Let me congratulate you properly first." He boosted her up the sofa and her breath caught. "I'm not a caveman who doesn't know how to treat a lady." He shifted her clothing to find skin. "Any man worth his salt knows the proper thing to do in such a situation." He pressed a light kiss to warm flesh. "Gift baskets." Lily hooted and cuffed his ear lightly as he smiled into her stomach. "I'm reasonably certain I'm supposed to make up a gift basket. Although it might be something about tax returns. Maybe I should go get the guidebook."

"What, the proper-bloke guidebook?" Lily's hands ran over his shoulders. "I'm not letting you go anywhere."

.

.

.

* * *

Well, here it is. I hope the time jumps aren't too disconcerting. Thank you for the reviews!


	3. Chapter 3

"What the ever-bleeding fuck are we doing crawling around the Welsh mountainside in fucking April? _Voluntarily?_ What the fuck are we doing?" James paused to adjust his jacket, and wriggled his wet toes in wet boots miserably.

Lily's cheerful laughed carried back to him clearly in the wind. Happy and relaxed, she looked supremely in her element with the wind pulling pieces of her hair out of its knot and her legs splattered with mud up to the knee. Despite the chill and mist, she had somehow managed to freckle spectacularly. "You asked me where I wanted to go."

"I forgot you were barmy. I would have taken you to Majorca."

"James, I am going to come back from a week in Wales with a burn. Mention the Mediterranean again, and I'll start blistering here and now." She walked – the word _swaggered _might have crossed James' mind – back down to him and slung her arms around his neck as she gave him a smacking kiss. "Are you going to carp the _entire _time?"

"I didn't complain yesterday."

"Yesterday it rained and you seduced me on the sideboard so you wouldn't have to leave the cottage."

"And today it could've been the Welsh dresser."

She gave a low, quick laugh and peered further up the mountain. "If we get up over that way it should cut down on the wind for the next while."

"Excellent. Do you think that boulder serves Palo de Mallorca?" Lily pulled back and thwacked him lightly, but he grabbed her before she could move away and gave her a friendly kiss. "Whinging stops now, I promise."

"It'd better. Breathe the fresh air. Appreciate the view. Listen to me next time I say you need better boots."

* * *

Lily stood with the suit jacket she was beginning to hate folded over her arms.

It had taken a few days for her to work up the nerve to call James. Despite the fact that he had sounded relieved to hear from her, the awkwardness of the call – coupled with the memory of the rather rubbish lunch with Sirius – had prompted her to suggest the first thing she thought of where they could at least walk around. Now she waited, ten minutes early, outside the London Zoo wondering if it was all a mistake. It occurred to her belatedly that although the jacket was in some sense an excuse to see James again, he would now have to cart an expensive and rather begrimed dinner jacket around for an afternoon jaunt to go look at some animals. It all just seemed so much more complicated than it had that night as they laughed together over cooling mugs on a wobbly table. Now it was all so – built up. Somehow important. She remembered the way he had looked at her, and couldn't help but worry she wouldn't stand up in the sober light of day.

She huffed and threw the jacket over her shoulder, freeing her hands to rummage around the bag she pretended passed for a purse. The day had started off overcast, but now the sun had broken free of the cloud cover, and as she pawed through the clutter for her sunglasses, she promised herself that _this time _she really would tidy it when she got home. "Bloody nuisance – "

"Lily?" Her hands froze and she looked up, squinting through the glare to make out the tall figure standing before her.

"James." She pulled her hands from the depths of her bag, and was suddenly clueless as to what to do with them. Should she shake his hand? She rubbed her palms nervously against the skirt of her dress before suddenly remembering his jacket slung over her shoulder. "Oh!" She grabbed it, flushing slightly, and held it out to him. "Here – thanks. For, um, letting me borrow this."

He frowned quizzically at the jacket as he took it, shuffling it from hand to hand and giving Lily enough time to really look at him and decide that _yes, yes, he really is as good looking as I remembered._ He looked up and smiled at her. "Anytime."

Lily noticed the way his eyes crinkled in the corners as he smiled, and she felt the nervous knot in her stomach loosen.

James tucked the jacket easily under one arm, and gestured at the zoo's entrance with the other. "Shall we?"

…

…

…

"A lemur? Really?"

"Sure, why not?" Lily's ice-cream arrived, and James passed it over to her. "They seem like they have a pretty good life. Why, what animal would you like to be?"

"I'm not sure. A sea otter, maybe." Lily noticed a young boy looking over at her cone dolefully and tried not to feel guilty as she caught the first drip with her tongue.

James scoffed. "How is that so different? It's practically a sea lemur."

It was Lily's turn to snort. "That's ridiculous. A sea lemur? They're more like…I don't know. Weasels, maybe? Large, friendly sea weasels."

"You want to be a sea weasel, and you think _I'm _the odd one?" The woman at the ice-cream cart passed James his cone, and he regarded it thoughtfully. "You know, I think maybe I changed my mind. Could I get chocolate instead?"

Lily raised an eyebrow, but James winked at the boy Lily had noticed earlier. "Oi, you there. Like strawberry?"

He nodded enthusiastically, eyes wide.

"Go ahead and take this off my hands then, why don't you." He passed it over, and the boy took it and scarpered, apparently afraid that James would change his mind. James avoided Lily's eye as he accepted his second cone and paid for the three of them. "So what's next? Polar bears?"

"Sure." Lily continued to watch James thoughtfully as they set off, but he seemed determined not to look at her, and she hid a smile. "How did things go in Southampton?"

That got his attention. "What? How do you…"

"Sirius told me. I mean, he didn't tell me much else, but he told me you were in Southampton."

"Oh. Um. It went alright. It was, um, a family business thing." He looked at her inquiringly. "Sirius was uncharacteristically…unforthcoming about your meeting. I was really glad you called; I thought maybe he had been an arse and you'd given it up as a bad game."

"Well, er…he did speak well of you."

"Tell me honestly – anything I should clock him for?"

Lily shook her head and leaned on the fence surrounding the bears' enclosure. They both watched the animals in silence for a moment.

"So how'd you get interested in archaeology?"

Lily shrugged. "Well – bogs, mostly." She grinned at James' incredulous look. "I'm from Cokesworth originally, but my grandmother on my father's side lives in Borth, and my sister and I spent most of our summers there growing up. There's the petrified forest…" she looked at James inquisitively, and he just shrugged. "Anyway, what I really liked was poking about the bog. I found some little things – nothing significant, of course, but it all seemed fascinating to me. My Nan got me a book on bog bodies – "

"Hang on." Here James stopped her. "Those ancient dead people they pull up from the peat?" Lily nodded, smirking. "What are you about? You're telling me that as a kid you ran around Wales trying to rustle up a dead body or two?"

Lily laughed. "Well, not exactly, but I thought it was rather wonderful, and anyway, I was hooked."

"Hmmm." He smiled and shook his head, sunlight glinting off his glasses as he squinted at a polar bear as it heaved itself out of the water.

"What about you? Civil engineering?"

"How – ?" he shook his head again. "Sirius." He rolled his shoulders. "It's not so interesting a story. There's this family business on my mom's side – Development, you know? I just picked what I thought was the most interesting part."

"Was that the family business in Southampton?"

"Yeah." His hands fidgeted against the railing. "My uncle's done most of the day-to-day stuff the past few years, but he and my mum own equal shares." He shrugged. "There was a thing, and I went down in her place."

"Ah. Well, that's nice." James nodded absently. "What next?"

James threw off his preoccupation enough to grin at her. "Anything around here that'll scare you enough to want me to hold you?"

Lily shook her head incredulously, rolling her eyes as she nevertheless bit back a smile. "Cheeky.

James' grin faded into a look of puzzlement. Noticing that his gaze fell past her shoulder, Lily turned around and found herself similarly perplexed. "Those…are those monkeys…just…strolling around?"

"Well, at least if you see them, too, I know I'm not crazy. Do you think we should, I dunno, tell some—"

Someone screamed, and as they spun towards the sound, the protective arm Lily had automatically thrown in front of James collided with his as he moved to shield her. Trying to look around him, it took Lily a moment to see what exactly it was now causing people to shout and run. Finally catching a glimpse of the huge, slinking feline form, Lily's stomach dropped. Heart beating fast, Lily jerked at an unexpected sound behind her, and gaped as several antelope galloped by. "What the _fuck _is going on? What do we do?"

James shook his head wordlessly, holding her upper arm as he nudged her so their backs were both against the fence. "We get out of here, _now._ Slowly, I think. You're not supposed to run, right? Just makes things chase you."

Lily nodded, mouth dry, and they shuffled along the fence in the direction Lily was hoping led to the entrance, their heads snapping around at every new sound. She nearly pissed herself when she stumbled over some sort of massive snake, but it ignored them.

"Can you climb this?" Lily looked up at the decorative sort of wall James was indicating, and felt her stomach sink.

"I'm not sure I can get – "

"I'll pull you up." With an ease that made Lily blink, James jumped and caught the edge, pulling himself up. Before he could offer her a hand, a sound behind her made her turn slowly.

Lily didn't know exactly what she was feeling as she looked into the eyes of an enormous wolf. It looked very different than it had earlier, safely locked away. Lily didn't remember what kind of wolf it was. She didn't care. What she did know was that the informational plaque which had told her where it came from, and what its habits were, had not given any helpful hints about what to do when confronted with it when the barriers were gone.

"Lily." James spoke softly. "Take a step back, towards my voice. Give me your hand. Move slowly."

Numbly, she followed his directions, unable to look away from the beast's yellow eyes as she raised her arm blindly. When James' hand grasped hers, the wolf made a low sound in its throat and stepped closer. Lily's blood froze, but James pulled, and a heart stopping moment later, she was on top of the wall, gripping it tightly as James' hands rested comfortingly on her back. _Could a wolf jump this high?_ The moment the thought occurred to her, she sat up, pulling in her feet, but the wolf was leaving, seemingly fearful. Her momentary relief was ruined by the thought following on its heels, _what would scare it away? _ She ignored James, who was asking if she was alright, and searched for the source of the wolf's apprehension.

All she could see was a man in black walking without fear towards a small group of people huddling in some shrubbery. His confidence temporarily eased Lily's mind – clearly he was some sort zoo official, intent on getting people out of harm's way. He stopped a short distance away from where the frightened people crouched, and although Lily couldn't make out what he was saying, something didn't feel right. A woman in the shrubs stood up, and the man pointed something at her and she fell down, screaming.

Lily did the first, and therefore very stupid, thing she could think of – taking off her shoe and throwing it at him. It fell short, but then James' hand gripped her shoulder. "Give me the other." She handed it over, and he stood up carefully on the wall, aimed, and threw. Lily's flat struck the back of the man's head, and as his hand dropped, the screaming ceased. He turned around, clearly searching for them. Up on the wall, they were not difficult to find, and he began advancing towards them almost at once. Even seen across the distance, his face made Lily's blood curdle.

"Shit. _Shit. _Move. Move, _move." _ Lily scrambled to her feet, heart pounding, and did her best to run along the top of the wall. It quickly proved to be just about impossible, so she bent down, clambering off the other side of the wall instead. The drop to the ground jarred her knees, but she kept to her feet. Pulling James up from where he had tumbled down beside her, they began running, forgetting their earlier caution. The unknown man's strange, menacing actions and unnatural appearance had scared Lily in a way even the wolf hadn't. Judging by James' harsh breaths and willingness to sprint beside her, he felt much the same way. They skirted a camel, and found themselves at the south entrance. Even outside, they didn't break off running for some time. Finally, they came to a staggering stop. Lily's mind acknowledged the sound of emergency vehicles for the first time, followed by the way the strap of her bag was cutting into her chest and the awareness of just how badly her bare feet hurt, and she sat down. James, hands on his knees, was breathing hard and shaking his head. After a minute, he sat down beside her.

"What the _fuck _was that? Just – any of it? The _fuck?_"

Lily just shook her head in response. She wasn't sure how much the speed at which her heart was beating had to do with running, and how much was adrenaline and fear. She drew her feet in, straightening her skirt to cover her legs, and realized her right arm had somehow been scraped and was bleeding. For no reason at all, it occurred to her that James must've dropped his jacket at some point, because he no longer had it.

"How did the animals get out? Who could do that? _Why?_ Why does this kind of stuff just keep happening? Just last week it was the post office – and what the hell was with that bloke? What did he do? What was with his _face_?"

"I don't know. I can't sort it through yet." Lily felt almost as if she might cry. "I think I want to go home."

"What? Oh, yeah." James looked at her closely. "Are you okay?"

Lily nodded, not really trusting herself to speak. Back in the direction of the zoo, the commotion grew.

"Let me hail you a cab." James drew himself up and moved towards the street. Lily took a shaky breath and tried to pull herself together. She couldn't even really explain to herself why she felt so close to falling apart. She wondered with a sick feeling how many people might've been attacked by a zoo's worth of loose animals. A sunny Saturday – there had been an awful lot of families. Her mind still shied away from the mysterious, terrifying man, and her stomach clenched at the memory of the woman's screams. What she wanted more than anything was to go home and curl up and ignore everything for a while.

James was bent over, speaking to a cabbie through his window, and Lily stood up, edging closer. He turned and motioned to her, and at the sight of his concerned face she felt a sudden burst of warmth towards him. He grasped the door handle, but made no motion to open it. "Will you call me to let me know you're alright?" She thought of the way his hands had felt against her back, the way he tried to play off buying some young boy ice cream.

"With the rate at which London's falling apart, you'd better have my number." She found a pen and grasped his willing hand in hers, scribbling down her information. Still holding his hand, she rose up to kiss his cheek. She thought she should probably say something, but could think of nothing, and so just smiled and opened the door to the cab herself, and watched him watch her be driven away.

* * *

Lily stopped unexpectedly, and James ran into her. She stumbled, but caught herself before she ended up in the muck of the increasingly muddy mountain.

"You alright?"

"Er, yes." She pointed over to the left. "And I sincerely hope he is." A man lay sprawled face down in the mud, immobile and unclothed. Lily took a step closer. "Do you think he's…" she trailed off as she (gratefully) spotted the rise and fall of his breathing.

"How do you think he got up here? Like…this?"

"I dunno. Stag night gone wrong?" Lily moved closer and crouched down next to him, looking up at James before hesitantly touching the man's bare shoulder. Immediately, he jerked, staggering to his feet and looking around with wild eyes. He only made it a few steps backwards before he slipped and collapsed into the mud again, next to Lily where she had fallen back at the unexpected strength of his reaction.

"Are you okay?" Lily gently laid her hand on his shoulder again.

"I'm fine." His voice was raspy. "I'm sorry, I'll just… I was just…" His narrow face was haggard and worn, but Lily didn't think he could be that much older than they were.

"Here." James had shrugged out of his coat, and was holding it out to him.

"Oh, no I couldn't—"

"What d'you mean, mate? You're halfway up a mountain in the middle of nowhere. Are you planning on having a nice brisk ten mile walk back to town completely starkers?" He held out the coat again, and the man took it reluctantly.

Still on the ground, Lily wriggled her feet out from under her and began removing her boots and socks. "We're renting a cottage just over a ways. Come on, we'll go back and get you something proper to wear before we kick you out down mountain." She shoved her bare feet back into her boots and held out her socks. He looked at her doubtfully, and she shrugged. "They're better than nothing. Well, probably."

He looked from Lily to James, baffled. "I could be a psycho killer."

James shrugged, grinned. "So could we."

…

…

…

"…So then he says, 'it's not an eggplant, _he's retarded.'_"

Lily walked back into the room carrying two mugs of tea. "You do _not_ have to feel obliged to laugh at that."

The man, now identified as Remus and wearing some of James' clothes, accepted a mug with a grateful smile.

James, meanwhile, was scowling at Lily. "_You _did."

"I laughed at the _situation,_ not the joke. Besides, you were drunk and ridiculous, of course I laughed."

James grabbed a biscuit and motioned with it as he leaned back. "Pay no attention to her. It may be awful, but it is funny."

Remus smiled roguishly. "That's nothing. How about this one: A man and his horse walk into a bar…"

.

.

.

* * *

Thanks for the reviews! They mean a lot.


	4. Chapter 4

Lily felt something tickle her nose and grimaced, not opening her eyes. A larger something snorted beside her and ran a finger down her nose again. Reluctantly, she cracked open an eye to view an amused James lounging beside her. "You _are_ burned." He sounded irritatingly delighted.

"Told you I would be. It's my curse."

"It's been cloudy."

"Doesn't matter. A week outside is a week outside."

"Speaking of, I thought we might want to get an early start."

Lily's eyes, which had stayed closed for most of the exchange, sprung open. "James Potter, one might think you were actually looking forward to tramping around the countryside to no purpose. Should I call and inform your parents that you're lost to them forever?"

He rolled his eyes as he covered her smirk with his hand, but the flush working its way up his neck made her giggle. "Don't be daft. It's our last full day; I just know you'd hate to sleep through it. Thought I'd do you a service."

"Hmmm. Well, did you think to make me a cuppa before waking me up?"

" 'Course." He nodded toward the bedside table. "But I thought I might leave breakfast to you."

She rolled herself into reach of the mug he had set there and carefully picked it up. "I suppose that's acceptable."

...

...

...

They had spent most of the morning roaming the mountains in comfortable silence, having found their rhythm over the week spent walking together. James' breath seemed so loud beside her, and Lily found the sound strangely comforting. When they judged it to be around noon they stopped, standing in a spot of sunlight as they ate the food James had been carrying in his knapsack.

James stayed obligingly still as Lily packed the remnants of the meal back into the bag still on his back, but as soon as she had fastened it he grabbed her, pulling her back against his chest and resting his chin on her head with a sigh. She relaxed into his loose embrace as they watched the clouds shift, throwing more light down into the valley below. "Alright, I'll admit it," James murmured into Lily's hair.

"Admit what?"

"This is nice."

Lily smiled. "Better than Majorca?"

He kissed her ear. "Bringing you to Majorca'd be like putting a lobster in a pot." She elbowed him in the gut, and she could feel his smile when he kissed her again.

"You'll only get so much from me Evans, but I'll say it again. This – this is nice."

"Well, remember that in, oh, say half an hour."

"Why d'you say that?"

She nodded to the sky over his left shoulder. "I'm guessing, but that's probably what we've got until that storm cloud gets here."

"Well, shit."

...

...

...

"Half hour my arse."

"Stuff it, you; we're fine. We were in the rain for barely five seconds."

The wind had kicked up unexpectedly, and it was with luck, speed, and swearing (on both their parts), that they had found a cave to hole up in just as the worst of the storm hit. Turning away from the sheet of rain, Lily swept her wet curls off her face as she examined their refuge. "It's big in here," she said in surprise. From outside, it had looked barely large enough to hold the two of them. Once through the entrance, however, the cave opened up, and although the ceiling dipped dangerously low in places, the space appeared to wend its way quite far back into the mountain.

"Right, I need to piss." James headed around a boulder and disappeared.

"Don't do it in _here_," Lily said exasperatedly. "Go back outside."

"Nah, I'm alright."

"No, you're not. We might be here awhile, James. Don't be disgusting."

"It's all part of my boyish charm," he called around the corner.

"Whoever led you to believe that might be true should have their head knocked against a wall." He didn't answer, and Lily rolled her eyes and turned back to watch the rain fall.

"Oi there, Professor Bones."

Lily raised a brow. "Beg pardon?" The dim air was damp and chill, and she wished she'd worn more than her thin fingerless gloves.

"There's some sort of big animal bones back here, give your educated self a look and tell me if I've discovered a dinosaur or a cow."

Lily huffed, but ducked around the uneven ceiling, peering through the gloom until her eyes found James and the tell-tale dull white gleam of the bones at his feet.

"Well, first things first, archaeology is not palaeontology, and secondly…" she began briskly enough, but quickly trailed off as she fully took in what she was seeing. "Hell." Her eyes scanned the find once more before she hunkered down for a better look, absently pulling off a glove as she did so.

"It's a dinosaur, isn't it? Does that mean I get to name it?" James' voice was light and teasing, but Lily found herself very much not amused, the hair on her arms standing on end.

"It's not a dinosaur, I can tell you that right off, you dolt. The bones aren't fossilized for one; they're not even that old. Clean, though. And cows, you might remember, have something we educated folk like to call hooves." She reached out a hand and gingerly took hold of a bone, shifting it slightly. "But this…" she pulled back her hand, and was surprised and a little embarrassed when she noticed how fast her heart was racing. "James, I have no idea what this could be. It doesn't even look _real." _

James nudged a bone with his foot. "Looks real enough to me."

She made a gesture as if to swat a fly, absent-minded and irritated. "I mean, the bones _themselves_ look real, but altogether, it's impossible. Look at this." She shuffled her feet a bit so she could reach her arm out to indicate several long, thin bones. "This is part of the hand, right, but these look like they're intended for flight." She used her own hand as a model to demonstrate. "They're almost like those of a bat, but not quite." She shifted again, her mouth pulled in a line as she concentrated, trying to make sense of it. "And here! Look, so if these are the clavicles... Yes, look, these are the clavicles, but they're fused, like a wishbone—like it flies. But James, it's just not possible."

"Why not? I mean, maybe some sort of massive bird ended up where it shouldn't, and died for it. Could've gotten out from a zoo – not like _that_ hasn't happened before."

"No – James – " Lily's mind was flipping through the possibilities, and she was finding it harder and harder to express herself properly. "First of all – this is far too big. None of the bigger birds fly, and even an ostrich couldn't get this big. And you're not listening to me, it doesn't look like a bird, bird wings don't do that. They don't work that way. And when you look at the head, at – bloody hell, look at that tail – it looks reptilian. Except that bit, there – I've no idea what that is. It's all jumbled, but it doesn't quite look like anything else, either. Like a bat, but not quite like a bat. Like a bird, not quite like a bird." Just as Lily's distress peaked, it dissipated, and she relaxed. "It's a hoax. It has got to be a hoax. Or a gag." She released a breath and ran her hands through her hair. "Bloody hell. I'm being stupid."

James frowned at the bones. "I thought you said the bones looked real."

"They _do _look real." Lily picked one up and examined it more closely. "It's really lightweight, though. _Very _light. Light enough for flight? Someone must have figured out how to mimic bone pretty brilliantly. But then why..." she trailed off again, brow furrowed as surveyed the bones.

"Why go to all the trouble for this? What's the hoax?"

Lily nodded slowly. "If they were going for modern day dinosaur, why not model it on an actual dinosaur? And then why here? Maybe – dragon? The red dragon...maybe it's a nationalist thing." Lily made a frustrated noise in the back of her throat. "I'm not going to be able to leave it be. I want someone to look at it and tell me what I'm seeing. Or not seeing. I don't know enough about animals or their bones." Lily glanced up at James, and then did a double take as if surprised to find him there, and he got the feeling it was the first time she had really considered him since she'd knelt down. She smiled at him wryly. "Next time, find pottery. I'm aces with pottery."

...

...

...

"Careful."

"I'm being careful."

"_James..." _Lily spoke warningly.

"I'm telling you woman, I _am _being careful."

Lily had spent the remainder of time until the rain thinned poking through the bones and muttering to herself. Hemming and hawing, she had eventually extricated three bones to carry home to show an old professor. Their crisp bags and apple cores had been moved to Lily's pockets, and the bones, or whatever they were, had been carefully packed into the knapsack James carried. She was now regretting this greatly, wincing as she watched one of the awkwardly-shaped bones strain against the wet canvas every time James leaned or hunched forward to deal with the uneven and now muddy terrain. "We don't know how fragile those might be, and I don't know if we should be taking them in the first place, if something—"

"Lily, I'm telling you, I couldn't be more careful if I tried." Lily had barely opened her mouth to retort before he saw his mistake and added, "I _am_ trying; I meant I can't try any harder. They'll be fine."

He stopped to scowl at her, and his sulky expression combined with the way his damp hair stuck up in every direction made Lily think of a petulant toddler. She raised her hands in surrender. "Let's just get back so we can dry off and get something to eat."

"Now you're talking."

...

...

...

Finally on the train, Lily leaned back and exhaled noisily, closing her eyes as she listened to the murmurs and laughter of other passengers. Packing that morning had been a nightmare, even with the lighter load, seeing as they'd used up all their supplies. There had been a bit of a stress-induced squabble, and they had almost missed their train. Altogether, Lily found herself anxious to get away from James for a bit. A whole week spent entirely in one another's company —the solitude broken only by the brief interlude with the bloke Remus—had led Lily to recognize that, no matter how much she cared about James, other people and space were necessary for both their sakes. Although they'd been living together for a bit, now, she supposed this lesson was still rather timely. He _fit _with her in a way she couldn't quite explain, and which made her stomach jump if she thought about it too deeply, but he also had the ability to drive her spare like no other. From the expressions she had occasionally recognized on James' face as the week went on, she reckoned he felt much the same.

She was disturbed from wondering which of her friends might be amenable to last minute plans once they got back to London by James gently nudging the bag of bones she had placed between her feet. "I've been thinking," James settled an arm around her shoulders, and despite her plans to abandon his company for a few hours as soon as possible, she sank against him with a sigh.

"You've been thinking?" she prompted.

"Your Nan ever tell you dragon stories?"

She shifted to look at him incredulously. "What? You're wondering if we've found an actual dragon?"

"_No." _ He huffed. "I'd just like some more context. What do the Welsh say about the beasties?"

Lily pursed her lips, considering. "Well, she _did _have a tale with something to the effect that vipers that suckle from a woman grow wings and become dragons. Nothing about large dragons, though, at least not that I remember. Then again, that was the coast. Maybe they tell different tales up in the mountains."

"Might be."

"And as I said, there's the thing about the red dragon of Wales fighting against the white dragon of the English. A metaphor, clearly; I don't know exactly when that legend got started." She was quiet for a moment. "You think someone was trying to make a _specific_ dragon from an old story? Like if someone was to plant fake bones at Loch Ness?" She didn't wait for an answer. "That would probably make the most sense."

"It's a thought at least."

She fiddled absentmindedly with the fingers of his free hand. "I'm probably going to make a right fool of myself, bringing these to McGonagall. I just don't feel comfortable dismissing them as shite, even though they must be. It's just that they're..." she trailed off and shook her head.

"What exactly does this professor of yours specialize in?"

"She's an evolutionary biologist. You know – how one animal becomes another, essentially. Not really my area, but she ran this sort of interest society at Uni – wanted people in other fields to know enough to notice anything significant they came across, you know, and she was brilliant—is brilliant."

"And she'll know what's up with these bones?"

Lily shrugged. "She'll know enough."

They lapsed into silence, James tracing patterns onto the leg of Lily's jeans.

Eventually, the words of the other passengers began to break through Lily's musings, and she felt a pit form in her stomach as her attention focused in. "_Death count...can't believe..._another_ collapse...makes three this year_..." She turned to James, who, judging by the look on his face, had also heard enough to catch his interest.

"Perhaps we should catch up on the news?"

"I didn't even think – a lot could happen in a week, I suppose. London could've burned to the ground for all we'd know."

James went off to scrounge up a newspaper, and the expression on his face as he made his way back to where Lily sat with their belongings made her stomach clutch. He had a paper in hand, but he didn't open it immediately as he sat down beside her, instead leaning over to tell her urgently and lowly, "Westminster Bridge collapsed. It's completely gone. Nine dead, loads more injuries."

"_What!" _She gaped at him, disbelieving. "How is that even _possible? _I mean..._"_

James shook his head, eyes serious. "I don't know. It shouldn't be."

Lily tugged at the paper, and James opened it for them to read together in silence.

"Blimey," Lily said quietly as she finished. "It just seems...England's practically falling apart at the seams this year. The London zoo...the post..._three _bridges now...the mix-up with the palace guards...that awful Bristol Lulsgate incident..."

"To scratch the surface," James nodded. "It's turning into one thing right after another. It's almost as if..." he trailed off.

"What?" Lily prompted.

"It's just..." James shook open the paper again and spoke lowly. "Look at the picture of the bridge. "There's no way the bridge would just fall to pieces like that. Even if something was wrong. I mean – it practically fucking disintegrated." He gave a tight, humourless smile. "That's not the way its bones work."

Lily watched his eyes closely. "You're saying you think someone's responsible? They did it on purpose?"

James hesitated. "What if—what if it's all on purpose? Scaring people...making them lose faith in the government, think it useless or whatever..."

Lily's fingers fiddled nervously with the edge of the paper, rolling and unrolling it. "If the bridge was sabotaged, though, why wouldn't they say anything about it? Or any of the other things; they've all been reported as accidents. Why not let people know it's not just neglect or negligence? That it's not their fault?"

James shrugged. "Maybe they don't want people to feel under threat."

"From what, James? From whom?"

James' brow furrowed as he looked at the paper again. "Maybe that's it. They don't want people know, because the truth'd be worse."

"You don't think you're being a little paranoid?"

James jerked his shoulder before putting his arm around her once more. "Likely." He didn't sound as if he meant it. Lily took his hand in hers, and they fell into an uneasy silence.

* * *

James had a break in his schedule, and after another late night waiting for word from a foreign branch, Lily had decided she was entitled to a particularly leisurely lunch hour. Despite the growing chill in the air, the impossibly bright, cutting autumnal light prompted the pair to keep on their coats and brave outdoor seating. The café they'd found was a good one, and conversation was slight as they tucked in.

Lily stole a longer look at James as she paused in her eating to take a sip of her drink. She couldn't get a read on him. He kept calling her, and they had been seeing each other a few times a week. They'd finally gone for that crummy diner lunch. Coffee. A film. A showing at an art gallery, trying not to smile or wince at some of the more alarming artistic choices, then laughing about it afterwards over drinks. A slightly awkward pub quiz with Sirius at the two friends' long-time favorite pub. All the same, it was all so casual, so friendly. Lily thought the most James had touched her was to help with her coat. In her mind, the connection between them was so clear, she wondered if she was missing something, something that was stopping him from taking it further—from just bloody kissing her already. It made her nervous, and unsure enough not to take the plunge herself.

Today, she could tell he was distracted, on edge. They had decided to do lunch when she'd called him the night before to cancel their plans when she learned she would be kept late at work. It seemed to her something had changed since they'd last spoke, and that his mind was elsewhere. Her confidence missed a step, jolting slightly downwards. Did he wish _he _was elsewhere?

_Stuff it. _"What's on your mind?"

He started slightly. "Mmwhat?"

Her fingers drummed a bit nervously against her glass, but she did her best to infuse her face and voice with a mostly false self-assurance. "Where are you? You don't really seem…here."

He scrubbed his hands over his face. "Sorry." He leaned his elbows on the table and frowned, as if getting his thoughts together. Suddenly – "Did you hear about the bridge up north?"

"I—what?" Whatever she was expecting, it wasn't that. "That new bridge that only lasted like, an hour after they finished it before it fell to pieces?"

"Yeah." He motioned abstractedly with his hands. "One of my old professors designed that bridge."

"Oh."

"The thing is, it shouldn't have fallen apart. She's good at what she does. Award-winningly good, actually."

"Oh," Lily said again, before she mentally rolled her eyes at herself. "So – what? Bad workmen?"

He leaned back, shaking his head. "I don't think so. I mean, how bad would they need to be? That thing fell into nothing. It's _gone._"

Lily didn't know what to say. "At least no one got hurt."

"Yeah, you're right; of course you're right. Better that it happened before they opened it officially. It's just – disconcerting. Can't imagine it's easy for her right now, that's all." He looked at her for a moment, and seemed to shake something off. "How's your chicken?"

She shrugged a shoulder, smiled. "Excellent."

"Good." He was still looking at her, really looking at her. Lily bit her lip a little self-consciously, and he answered with a grin.

The café was busy, and others were waiting for their table, so they each took a sweet, crumbling pastry to go, and strolled together to the nearest park. The conversation was freer now, as if some weight had been lifted. James said something stupid, and when Lily laughed, he tossed the remnants of his pastry towards some pigeons, and kissed her.

The sunlight was warm on her eyelids; his lips were warmer. He pulled away to look at her. Her ears seemed to be buzzing, and she couldn't help but laugh again just a little. "Took you long enough."

His smile was immediate and lingered at the corners of his eyes. "Give a bloke some time to work up the nerve."

She raised her eyebrows, and her own smile widened. "It's been a month."

"Have you seen you?"

She laughed again, quick and breathless.

He gave a little half-grin and shrugged. "I waited too long, and then it made it harder. Finally decided I had to just do it."

"Oh, really?" Lily quirked a brow. "How romantic."

His smiling gaze dropped to her lips again, and Lily's stomach cheered. A warm hand on her back pulled her closer, and Lily had to concentrate a little on her breathing. This kiss was longer, warmer, and ended with reluctance on both parts.

If Lily hummed through the afternoon's expense reports, no one could blame her.

* * *

James heard Lily hang up the phone in the other room, and guiltily jumped up to continue sorting through his suitcase. He made to look busy as she entered the bedroom, but she merely pushed her own bag off the bed and flopped down in its place with a moan.

"Why is it sitting on a train is so much more tiring than climbing mountains?"

"Because the world gets bored and likes messing with us." James gratefully shoved his mostly-full suitcase to the floor where it landed with a satisfying _whomp, _and joined Lily on the bed. Her hand went automatically to his hair, and he groaned appreciatively as her nails scratched lightly against his scalp.

"I want pizza. D'you want pizza?"

"God, yes. I'll order some as soon as I can move."

"Wales was lovely, but it is good to be home."

James smiled into her side. "Yeah, it is." Between the comfort of his own bed and Lily's fingers in his hair, it was a minute before James thought to ask, "Oi, d'you get a hold of that professor?"

Lily made a vague noise of assent. "I'm going to her house tomorrow morning. I hadn't realized she'd retired."

James lifted his head up, looking displeased. "Tomorrow? That means I can't come."

Lily looked mildly surprised. "I didn't really know you'd want to."

"Of course I want to come! 'The Mystery of the Dragon-Cow.' Who wouldn't be hooked?"

Lily snorted, and James rolled on top of her, grinning as he quickly rearranged himself into a position more comfortable for both of them.

"You'll tell me everything."

"Of course." Lily fought a slight smile and poked at him. "Now go get me pizza."

"Not so fast." James shifted again, freeing a hand to slide under her shirt. "I have to welcome you home first."

Lily squirmed, chuckled. "I'm not sure it counts seeing as we were both away."

James nuzzled her neck. "'Course it counts."

"Well then," Lily pulled his face up to hers. "Home sweet home."


	5. Chapter 5

"Please, help yourself to a biscuit."

"Thank you, Professor."

"Minerva, now, please."

"I – ah, yes. Minerva."

Minerva McGonagall looked exactly as Lily remembered her, although the comfortable, inviting home somewhat softened her severe aura of authority. Lily wondered if the longer she stayed in England, the more overtly Scottish she needed her surroundings – the tartan upholstery, the peat fire, the collection of Robert Burns on the side table, the dreamy landscape on the wall, which unless Lily was mistaken, was a Farquharson reproduction.

"So – a holiday in Wales. How was the weather?"

"Bracing."

McGonagall's stern expression relaxed enough for a small smile. "You don't seem to have changed much."

"Well –" Lily hesitated. "I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not, so I don't have much to say about it."

McGonagall's expression did not alter. "You weren't terribly plain on the phone. What was it, precisely, that you found?"

"Well..." Lily hesitated. "That's...I'm not entirely sure. It was a skeleton – it seemed to be a skeleton – the nature of the bones...raised some questions, and I wasn't sure exactly what I was dealing with, or how to proceed."

McGonagall leaned forward. "Let's see them, then."

Lily unwrapped the packet she had made up, and placed the bones on the table between them. The fused clavicles, the shortest of the lengthened phalanges, and a tail vertebra.

McGonagall did not hesitate to pick the first up. Lily waited in nervous silence as she watched her examine the bones thoroughly. She didn't ask any questions of Lily. Other than the gentle crackle of the fire, the tick of the clock, and the abrupt scrape of the chair when the professor rose to fetch a small magnifying glass, the room was silent. Lily alternated between watching the inspection, and examining her own hands.

Finally, McGonagall put the last bone down and stood up, walking to a small bookcase with cut glass doors. "Were all the phalanges like this?" she asked somewhat offhandedly.

"Yes. Well – on the forelimbs, at least."

After a moment, McGonagall found what she was looking for, and brought a thin, handwritten manuscript back to where Lily sat.

"The bones are real, if you were worried. This isn't the first time something like this has been found." She opened the book to several different pages before she showed one to Lily. "I imagine these sketches here show a very similar specimen to what you found, yes? It was found some years ago by a colleague of mine on a small expedition in the Hebrides." Lily's eyes traced the depictions of the familiar bones, and felt anticipation replace her trepidation. This was it – she wasn't being foolish, and she would finally have answers.

"What are they? Why haven't I seen them before?"

To Lily's slight dismay, McGonagall closed the book, and sat back with a sigh. "Because no one will ever admit to having found them."

Lily blinked in confusion. "But – you said – a colleague..."

McGonagall gave a single, unsmiling nod. "Yes. He came back from the expedition, gave me his journals to study, and then, when I spoke to him later, claimed to have no knowledge of any such thing."

Lily didn't know what to say.

"Over the years, there have been several such cases. Similar discoveries, similarly later discounted by the apparent discoverers. I am not one for conspiracy theories, Ms. Evans, but it would seem to me the most reasonable explanation is that someone is bribing them to keep silent. My colleague must simply have forgotten that I in fact retained his notes."

"But why?"

"I do not know. I would strongly suggest, nonetheless, that you speak about this to no one else, as a precaution."

"Of course." Lily suddenly wondered, with a sinking feeling, whether James might even now be telling others of the find as an interesting holiday story. She hoped, very much, that finding a naked man in the mud had won out in terms of comedic appeal.

"That being said," McGonagall stated, "when might you be available to accompany me back to this site? The sooner we can properly examine the entire specimen, the better."

Lily was a bit taken aback. "Go back to Wales? I suppose my schedule is free. I'm – er – not exactly employed at the moment –"

"Excellent. Don't worry about the cost; I'm requesting the trip, so I'll pay."

"That's – thank you." Lily bit her lip, considering how to word this next bit. "Would it be – acceptable – if my boyfriend were to come as well?"

"Oh?" McGonagall looked mildly intrigued. "Does he have a background in biology, then?"

"Well – er – no."

McGonagall raised a thin brow. Lily had always admired just how much she could say without a word. James' mother had the same ability, but that brought Lily more dread than appreciation. This _particular_ eyebrow stated that it was foolish to bring someone useless on a scientific trip merely out of sentiment, and the eyebrow questioned Lily's judgement in suggesting it. Without eyebrows that could do the talking for her, Lily clambered to put together an argument in James' favour.

"He was the one who found the specimen, you see, and he's very interested in understanding what it is. He could foot his own bill, and I'm sure he'd be more than pleased to be able to help however he is able. And, er..."

McGonagall shrugged slightly and leaned back in her chair. "Well...I can't imagine you'd be with a complete idiot. I suppose he could carry things, anyway."

Relieved, the look in McGonagall's eyes still made Lily feel somewhat chastised, as if she was warning Lily of her disappointment should her bloke turn out to be an fool. Lily's stomach clenched at a concern she had not considered. McGonagall's opinion meant a great deal to her, and she'd hate for her to find James somehow wanting. A moment later, Lily felt guilty. James was wonderful, of course McGonagall couldn't help but see that. She tried to put it out of her mind. "I can see if the cottage we stayed at before is available."

"Excellent. That will make things much simpler."

Lily felt she was slowly and belatedly realising just how big this was, and her excitement built steadily. This was real. She was going with this renowned scientist to work on what could be an enormous scientific discovery, and fate willing, neither she nor James would make fools of themselves. She took a bite of her forgotten biscuit.

"Professor – er, Minerva – do you have any theories as to what these animals might be?"

She observed Lily closely. "Without examining the bones myself, I do not feel comfortable attempting to place them within an evolutionary tree. That being said – Britain has always abounded with tales of large reptilian beasts. I imagine, whatever these animals are, they may be the root of those folk legends."

Lily couldn't prevent the slow grin that overtook her face. "So – dragons?"

McGonagall did not smile, but her eyes seemed to twinkle. "Dragons, Ms. Evans."

* * *

"I'm sorry – I could've sworn the festival was today."

"It's alright, really."

James shut the door to his flat and took her coat. "Would you like some tea or something? Wine? Cocoa?"

"Cocoa sounds lovely."

James disappeared into the kitchen, and Lily wandered aimlessly. She stopped at a bookshelf, then a window, out of which there was an actual view, rather than another wall as was the case at her own flat. She ran her hand over a smooth rosewood table. It wasn't the first time she'd been to his, but it still made her feel a bit overwhelmed. It was so large, and casually radiated wealth. It reminded her of the differences in their upbringings and circumstances, and she'd really rather not think about that, ever. She made her way back to the kitchen, just in time for James to hand her a steaming mug. "Ta."

They didn't bother to leave the kitchen, but instead leaned on the counters and talked and laughed as they sipped. It was just so _easy,_ with him. In other circumstances, with other people, it might have been uncomfortable for elaborate plans to be replaced with cocoa in a kitchen, but not with James. It was fun, and relaxed, and gave her the opportunity to watch his hands fiddling with his mug, gesturing to add impact to his statements, his jokes. She never tired of watching his hands.

Her own mug empty, she set it on the counter behind her and wrapped her arms around herself, an action James didn't fail to notice.

"Chilly? Would you like a jumper or something?"

"That would be lovely." She had known the pale blue dress was too lightweight and should've been relegated to the back of her closet a month ago, but she always felt particularly pretty in it, and so had ignored the weather and her better judgement. She followed James into his bedroom, and looked around curiously as he dug through a wardrobe. It was a simple enough room, mostly tidy, and smelled faintly of cedar and sweat.

Something caught the corner of her eye, and she turned back to James. "What was _that?"_

He looked back up at her. "What? This?" He held up a fuzzy, multi-coloured jumper.

"Yes, that. Let me see." He handed it over obligingly enough.

It was particularly fluffy and made mostly of bright red wool, and after squinting at the image knitted into the front for several moments, Lily felt relatively certain it was supposed to be a representation of Father Christmas. "It's – um – intriguing?"

"Old neighbour of my parents makes them for me – one a year ever since I looked after her cat when she was in the hospital."

"And you _keep_ them all?"

He scoffed. "Keep them? I _wear_ them all." He grinned and held up a purple one that was decorated with what appeared to be a lopsided and slightly pink snowman. "They're one of a kind. Très chic." His grin turned a bit wicked. "My parents are especially pleased when I wear them to the big Christmas season galas."

Lily laughed, hard, and found it so very easy to imagine him in a flashy hand-knitted holiday jumper sipping champagne in a room full of elegantly dressed people.

"Here." He held out a soft grey pullover. "This one shouldn't be that enormous on you."

"Thank you." She took it and smoothed a hand over the folded fabric, suddenly brought back to the memory of him fumbling as he placed his jacket over her shoulders as they left the diner, insisting the scotch kept him warm enough without it. It had smelled like wool and alcohol and him. It might've been silly, but she suddenly felt a wave of an almost aching fondness for this man.

She liked him – so, _so_ much. They had no plans for the afternoon. She had just spent an indeterminate amount of time lusting over his hands in his kitchen. They were in his bedroom, and she was wearing a dress that made her look particularly pretty. Her stomach jumped. She watched James consideringly as he shoved several items back into the wardrobe, and wondered how exactly one went about seducing a man after teasing him about his Christmas jumpers.

Her heart beginning to race, she decided to keep it simple, and placed the jumper on the blanket chest before she made her way around to the side of his bed and sat down, keeping her eyes on him. _How exactly did one look inviting?_ _Please don't need to be hit over the head about this._ All traces of humour left James' face, and Lily thought her message, unembellished as it was, had been received. Leaving the wardrobe as it was, James' eyes didn't leave her face as he moved to stand in front of her. He reached out cautiously to touch a curl behind her ear, and her breath caught as his fingertips grazed her neck.

"Are—" He cleared his throat. "Are you sure?" His eyes were serious, and his voice was a bit hoarse, as it hadn't been a moment ago.

She nodded, mouth twitching into a slight smile. "Yes."

He sat down next to her, which Lily thought was possibly a bit awkward, and she wondered for a moment how exactly things were going to proceed from there, but then he was kissing her, and Lily more or less stopped thinking. He tasted slightly of chocolate. Somehow, she found herself sitting astride his lap, her hands in his hair, and her heart in her throat. She was aware of removing his glasses, but wasn't entirely certain what she did with them.

"Christ, you're beautiful." His hands were on her skin now, and Lily thought she would've given anything for him to keep them there forever. She must have said something to that effect, because James broke their kiss to murmur against her lips, "Gladly."

...

...

...

Lily felt far too blissful to be embarrassed or awkward, as she sometimes was. Lying beside her, James looked a little like he had been hit in the head with a mallet, and she hid a smug smile against his shoulder.

"That was...you..." he trailed off. "There's nothing I can think to say right now that doesn't make me sound like the world's biggest dunce." He turned his face toward her, smiling. "Any suggestions?"

"Well..." she trailed her fingers along his skin. "Actually, no." She smirked at him. "You could just kiss me."

James propped himself up on his arm and grinned at her, moving his free hand to cup her face. "Yeah, I can do that."

His lips were almost on hers when Lily's stomach rumbled. _Loudly._ Monstrously, even. James paused, looking at her incredulously for a moment, before they both started snickering.

"To be fair," Lily defended, "I thought I was going to a food festival today."

Smiling, James ran a hand over her stomach. "Unfortunately, I have to admit I have nothing here to eat that I'm not horribly ashamed to offer you, but I'm not too fond of the idea of getting you very far afield of this bed."

"Hmm." Lily drummed her fingers against one of his arms. "Anywhere nearby that delivers?"

"There's a pizza place."

Lily's stomach growled again. "Yes, please."

"Hang on." He rolled out of the bed, and Lily shifted to better appreciate his arse as he walked to the door. "Any toppings you don't want?"

"No mushrooms."

"You alright with getting everything else?"

"So long as I don't need to move from this bed."

"That is not even a little bit of a problem."

Lily heard the muffled phone conversation from the other room and sat up, running her fingers through her hair. She tried for a moment to suppress her smile, but gave it up. After all, why _shouldn't _she be smiling? A moment later, James came back in and rejoined her on the bed.

"All set."

He ran a hand up her bare back, and Lily shivered just a little. He kissed her shoulder and then took a breath as if to say something, but then stopped himself. She looked back at him questioningly.

"I'm still a little worried about the dunce factor, if I'm honest."

Lily snorted.

"Could you just take that into consideration, and...sieve the idiot out of whatever I say next?"

"Alright."

"Right. Then. What I want to say is – you're incredible. And it's incredible to be with you. And – thank you."

"Oh."

"Dunce or decent?"

"Oh, absolutely both."

"I'll take it."

"And I want you to kiss me again."

"Right-O. Jolly good. Cheers."

Lily was giggling when he kissed her – and then she wasn't. The kiss deepened, their bodies shifted, the doorbell buzzed, and James groaned.

Lily smiled and gave his mouth one last light kiss. "I'll get it."

She threw on her dress before heading out of the bedroom toward the door, pausing to grab her wallet from her bag. Her heart felt light and full, and the _feel _of everything – the texture of her dress against her skin, the cool hardwood floor beneath her feet, all seemed unusually noticeable and pleasant. She couldn't help it – she gave one slow twirl. He was wonderful, and they were wonderful, and now they were going to eat pizza naked in bed, and everything was right with the world.

She opened the door distractedly, and was therefore unprepared as the rug was pulled out from under her, as she was doused with cold water, had the wind taken out of her sails, was knocked for six, knocked over with a feather, knocked down for the count, as every cliché she had ever heard seemed to wash over her – and she knew with an immediate, sickening certainty that the shocked couple standing before her were James' parents.

The three of them stood as if petrified. Lily thought that perhaps if she didn't breathe, time would just stop. His father – it had to be his father – looked the picture definition of the timeless English gentleman. He was perhaps missing only a purebred, perfectly groomed dog at his heels. His mother was beautiful, dark, terrifying. Intimidated as she was, it took Lily a moment to realise the woman was at least a full foot shorter. She had never been more aware of a lack of underwear in her life as in that moment, and thought it was entirely possible she might shortly die from a combination of terror and mortification.

His mother recovered first. A single brow rose on an otherwise unruffled face as she enquired, politely and coolly, "Is James Potter in?" Her dark, long hair was smooth and perfect in its clasp. Lily decided it was best not to glance in the mirror to the right to assess what her own hair might be doing at that moment.

"Of course. One moment, I'll just –"

"Mum! Dad!"

Lily jerked around, unable to decide if things were now better or worse. James had thankfully somehow realised something was up, as he emerged from the bedroom fully clothed.

"Darling." Lily stepped aside as Mrs. Potter moved past her toward James, and he bent down obligingly for her to kiss his cheeks.

He waited until after he had greeted his father as well before he asked, "What are you doing here?"

"We were passing through town. We thought we'd stop by and take you to dinner. I'm sorry we didn't know you were busy."

"Oh. Um. Well – this is Lily. She – Would you like some tea?"

Lily scrambled at the opportunity. "I'll get it." Anything – she would have done anything to leave the room.

Alone in the kitchen, Lily took a deep, calming breath before moving to fill the kettle. As she lit the stove, Mrs. Potter entered the room. "Would you care for any assistance?"

"No, thank you, I can manage." Under Mrs. Potter's watchful gaze, she opened cupboard after cupboard. She made herself a promise that she would never again sleep with a man before she knew where he kept his teapot.

His mother left the room, and Lily buried her face in her hands for a moment.

When she emerged from the kitchen with a tea tray some time later, she had managed, she hoped, to look more composed.

The Potters were sitting and visiting, and her poise slipped again somewhat as she wondered where she should sit. Next to James? How close was appropriate? Why was this so _hard?_

She chose a seat at random, and in an attempt to look occupied, busied herself with milk and sugar, even though she usually preferred her tea black. James had once jokingly called her preference "barbaric." For the first time, Mr. Potter spoke directly to her. "It was Lily, correct?"

"Yes." Under the pair's inscrutable, impassive eyes, she suddenly felt embarrassed by her name. Was it very lower-class? Was that a thing?

"I believe Sirius has mentioned you."

_Sirius_. She thought of his original opinion of her. She pictured a strange, rumpled woman with no underclothes at the door of their son's flat with a cheap floral wallet.

Without thinking, the question just sprung out, "Did he tell you I was a prostitute?"

All three Potters looked at her in matching horror.

"I – I'm not." She said weakly. "It was just – he – I –" Lily considered spilling her tea on herself for the excuse to leave the room, when to her vast relief, the doorbell rang again.

"That'd be the pizza." James jumped up. "We had ordered some food before you arrived –"

"Put it away for later." Mrs. Potter spoke firmly. "We'll take you both out to dinner."

As James paid the delivery man, Lily took the tea things back into the kitchen. James came in and shoved the box haphazardly in the fridge. She went to move past him, but he stopped her with a hand on her arm. "What was that about? A prostitute? Why would you say that?"

She waved her hands helplessly. "If I had any control over it, I wouldn't have. I don't know what happened, it just came out. Sirius told me when we met he thought I was a prostitute. I just –" she put her hands over her face. "I don't know."

"It's fine." He steered her back into the entry hall, and held out her coat. Making sure his parents weren't watching, she shook her head at him furiously. He bent down, probably to argue quietly, but Lily didn't wait. Keeping her voice as low as she possibly could, she insisted, "I am _not _going out to dinner with your parents without pants. Or a bra. Stall them." Without waiting for his response, she turned and moved toward the bedroom. Closing the door, she hurriedly donned all her clothing and wished she had worn a more appropriate dress.

Glancing in a mirror, she cursed quietly, and yanked her hair back to form a knot before she realized she had no way of tying it. Instead, she drew her hands through it quickly, trying to tame it, turning away from the mirror before she finished. _Sometimes ignorance is better._

The three Potters stood at the door, waiting. His mother gave her a coolly assessing glance as she came back into view. "Oh, good." She spoke smoothly, and without the slightest visible hint of humour. "James' friend has put her breasts away. It looks like we can go to Alfred's after all."

"_Mum!" _

She supposed she should feel grateful for James' spluttering, horrified defence of her, but she rather wished everyone would politely pretend the past half an hour had never happened.

"I'm only being practical, dear. If they won't let you in without a diner jacket, I can't imagine what they'd have to say about nipples."

Lily hoped with all her heart that Alfred's had a very, _very _well-stocked bar.

* * *

Lily had worried a bit about taking an aging woman to climb a mountain, but clearly she shouldn't have. McGonagall marched steadily and evenly, and Lily sometimes had to concentrate to keep abreast. James followed them both, and Lily looked back a time or two to catch a grimace on his face. He had finally bought new boots, but from his countenance, she thought they had perhaps not been worn in enough yet, and she winced in sympathy at the thought of his feet steadily being rubbed raw. He didn't say anything, however, so she didn't either.

"We're almost there. It's just up past that crest." Lily paused to point, hoping to give James a moment of respite.

"Excellent. We've made good time, which will give us more time to examine the specimen before it gets dark."

"Right." Lily bit her lip, looking back at James. "Well, let's get to it, then."

...

...

...

At the sight of the cave's entrance, Lily felt a thrill of exhilaration. Stepping into the cavern, she took a moment to orient herself before turning to the right. McGonagall and James followed.

"This way, then?" McGonagall asked briskly as she pointed. Her back was straight and her eyes were bright, and Lily couldn't believe she had ever considered her too old for field work.

"Yes – watch the ceiling, though, it gets pretty low in places."

"Very good. You there, Potter, mind you don't knock about any of that equipment."

"Yes ma'am."

Lily didn't follow McGonagall immediately, placing a hand on James' sleeve and asking quietly, "How are your feet?"

He shook his head. "Like two slabs of meat."

"Eugh," Lily shivered, running her hand along his arm comfortingly. "Vivid. You should've said something earlier."

"Not with the way she looks at me. I haven't proven myself yet." He jerked his head further up the cave. "Now get in there and do something impressively scientific." He wriggled his eyebrows at her. "I like it."

She smacked him, but ducked down to keep moving anyway. A moment later, she and James were again at McGonagall's side, speechless and bewildered.

The bones were gone.

.

.

.

* * *

Thank you thank you thank you for the reviews! -Amy


End file.
